Former N China senior party official under criminal investigation

BEIJING, Jan. 27-- Liang Bin, former head of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Hebei Provincial Committee's Organization Department, is being investigated by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) over allegations of accepting bribes, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

The SPP has taken "coercive measures" against Liang, who is also a former member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee.

According to the Criminal Procedure Law, coercive measures include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest.

Liang was expelled from the CPC and dismissed from public office following a graft investigation by the Party's graft division, which concluded that Liang had used his authority to seek profits for others, and had accepted "a huge amount of bribes" himself or through relatives.